Swine flu poses a greater threat to Britain than terrorism, Home Secretary Alan Johnson said yesterday.

'We have been preparing for this for a long time,' he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

'It came above terrorism as a threat to this country, so we had the whole Cobra machinery and inter-agency working. We have gone through simulation exercises where everyone was involved.'

Cobra is the Government's emergency committee that handles major disasters.

It was reported last night that criminals who have committed minor offences could be handed fines or cautions rather than appear in court under plans to prevent the Crown Prosecution Service being crippled by swine flu.

Crimes which would be dealt with in this manner include theft and low-level drug offences, it was reported last night.

The report said that a 59-page document issued by ministers also looks at how to manage a huge increase in the number of deaths, including using shipping containers and inflatable storage facilities as emergency mortuaries. Crematoriums would move to '24/7 working'.

The Football Association and Premier League are understood to have drawn up plans with the Department of Health under the Civil Contingency Act to hold sports events such as Premier League football matches behind closed doors.